Record Store Day 2012: AP Editors' Picks

Record Store Day celebrates independent culture every late April, encouraging music fans to drive past the big box department stores and malls in favor of their local record dispensary, a vital component to any town's cultural makeup. But with the list of RSD exclusives swelling each year, sifting through it to find the good stuff can be overwhelming. That's why AP's editors took a look and selected a dozen Record Store Day releases worth a Saturday morning wake-up call.

[JP] Jason Pettigrew, editor in chief
[AZ] Annie Zaleski managing editor
[SH] Scott Heisel, music editor
[BY] Bryne Yancey, web editor 

THE CLASH
London Calling 2012 7-inch
Epic / 4900 copies on black vinyl
The best punk band in the history of recorded music are putting out a new 7-inch? Well, not exactly; Joe Strummer is sadly still no longer with us, and this single features a “2012 remix” of “London Calling.” Maybe this is the version that's being used for the Olympic games in London this summer? Maybe it's Skrillex's reinterpretation of the classic anthem? We'll have to wait and see. (Hint: It's not Skrillex's reinterpretation.) Either way, the real bonus is the B-side, an instrumental version of the same cut. Finally, we get some new material for punk rock karaoke! [SH]

MAE
The Everglow 2xLP
Tooth & Nail / 1000 copies
Mae’s second full-length, The Everglow, is an underrated classic. Released in 2005, the album crystallized what was so wonderful about the Virginia pop-rock band: soaring melodies, evocative piano, inventive storytelling and yearning vocals. Still, The Everglow’s attention to detail elevates it to essential status—from the skittering programming and emo-riffic guitars on “Suspension” to the children’s-book effects bookending the album. Mae are on hiatus now, making this limited reissue even more of a must-have. [AZ]

MCLUSKY
Mclusky Do Dallas LP
Too Pure/Beggars Banquet / 1000 on colored vinyl
I could regale you with stories of production periods here at AP fueled by nothing more than black coffee and this, the second album from wisecracking Welsh outfit Mclusky, played at top volume. If you’ve never experienced the trio’s angular post-punk madness peppered with the surreal ranting of singer Andy Falkous (now CEO of Future Of The Left), you can cough up a sweet orange vinyl pressing of the madness this weekend. If lyrics like, “All of your friends are c—s/your mother is a ballpoint pen thief” (from “Gareth Brown Says”) appeal to you, the Too Pure label has now made it okay for you to lie and say you were into it 10 years ago. You’re welcome. [JP]

THE HORRIBLE CROWES
Live At Fingerprints 7-inch
SideOneDummy / 300 copies on blood red vinyl (Fingerprints exclusive), 700 copies on black vinyl
Brian Fallon and Ian Perkins turned the in-store performance concept on its head last fall, treating fans at Long Beach, California’s Fingerprints Music to a set that included the Horrible Crowes’ excellent debut full-length Elsie in its entirety, along with a pair of covers (Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” and INXS’ “Never Tear Us Apart”). Two of the duo’s originals from that set, “I Witnessed A Crime” and “Blood Loss,” get the wax treatment here, including a variant only available at the store where it was recorded—at least, until the flippers open up their eBay auctions. [BY]

CURSIVE
Burst And Bloom 12-inch
Saddle Creek / 1500 copies on yellow/white/black marbled vinyl
Out of print for more than a decade, Burst And Bloom is one of Cursive's finest moments in their catalog—it was the first release to feature cellist Gretta Cohn, and the first to have guitarist Ted Stevens sing lead (“Tall Tales, Telltales”). Finally, Saddle Creek have listened to fan demand and re-pressed this five-song gem for Record Store Day (in a run of 1,500 copies) and a wider run on different colors of vinyl available shortly thereafter RSD. There should be more than enough copies of this one to go around, so please don't resort to paying a premium on eBay—but do buy a copy for yourself and crank it up. [SH]

LEMURIA
“Varoom Allure” b/w  “Cannonballs To Hurt” 7-inch (colored vinyl)
Bridge 9 / 500 copies
While many RSD 7-inches repurpose content or go for novelty over substance, Lemuria’s new piece of wax features nothing more than two brash new tunes. Sonically, the release continues in the vein of their J. Robbins-produced 2011 LP, Pebble, with coiled bass lines, lurching guitars and delightfully off-kilter vocal harmonies. Plus, vocalist Sheena Ozzella tosses off the best rhyming couplet we’ve heard in ages: “Singing Tom Petty/Always derails me.” [AZ]

THE BRONX/MARIACHI EL BRONX
Split 12-inch LP
ATO / 1000 on splatter-colored vinyl
L.A. punk firebrands the Bronx have received more acclaim for their immersion into Mexican culture as Mariachi El Bronx than for their blistering straight-up rock fury. This split EP of both bands captured live in America and Europe should go far in sating both fans in the know and those who only remember “the dudes who opened for the Foo Fighters last year.” Old-school rockers, take note: Michael Monroe (of Hanoi Rocks legend) makes a cameo on the Bronx’s “Boulevard Of Broken Dreams.” And while the absence of “Revolution Girls” on the MEB side is perplexing, having a live version of “48 Roses” makes up for it just fine, thanks. [JP]

HEY MERCEDES
Hey Mercedes 12-inch
Polyvinyl / 700 copies on black vinyl
Bob Nanna’s first release with his new band after the dissolution of Braid (who are now back together), Hey Mercedes’ 2000 debut EP met what were probably sky high expectations, with opener “Bells” remaining a fan favorite throughout the band’s six year run. This is a “regional focus” release according to the RSD website, which means it’s going to be even less likely to see copies of this adorning the shelves of your local store (though we have a feeling that your chances will increase if your local store is in the midwest). On the flipside, it’s on 180 gram 12-inch vinyl, meaning those opening guitars are going to sound extra warm. [BY]

TAKING BACK SUNDAY
We Play Songs 12-inch
Brookvale/Warner Bros. / 1400 copies on black vinyl, 300 on yellow vinyl, 300 on blue vinyl
We still catch heat for saying New Again is our favorite Taking Back Sunday record (come at us, bro), but regardless, we were pleased as punch when the OG TBS lineup reconvened in 2010, and seeing them live last summer sealed the deal. Now, we can enjoy these guys in a live, acoustic format thanks to this four-song 12-inch, the first half of which was recorded at Fingerprints in Long Beach, California, the second half of which was recorded at Looney Tunes in Long Island, New York. As a thank-you for each of those stores providing the recordings, both Fingerprints and Looney Tunes will have exclusive colored variants (yellow and blue, respectively). The rest of us schlubs will have to get by listening on black vinyl. (It sounds the same, we promise!) [SH]

VARIOUS ARTISTS
The Breakfast Club soundtrack LP (white vinyl)
Pretty In Pink soundtrack LP (pink vinyl)
Empire Records soundtrack 2x LP (orange vinyl)
(UME / 5000 copies each)
When it comes to ’80s and ’90s teen movies, few can top this trio of films—or their accompanying soundtracks. 1985’s The Breakfast Club LP spawned the Simple Minds’ synthrock sparkler “Don’t You Forget About Me,” while 1986’s Pretty In Pink leaned hipper: alt-goth icons New Order, the Smiths, Echo & the Bunnymen and the Psychedelic Furs all made the cut. 1995’s Empire Records, meanwhile, is a snapshot of the post-Nirvana rock era, what with its tunes by Gin Blossoms, Better Than Ezra, Toad The Wet Sprocket and the Cranberries. Perhaps Empire Records’ most enduring song, however, is Edwyn Collins’ retro-cool “A Girl Like You,” which lives on in pop culture and flashback weekends. (Don’t know the song? Well, none other than Alvin And The Chipmunks covered the tune as a bonus on the PS2 version of their 2007 video game.) [AZ]

JOEY RAMONE
“Rock ’N’ Roll Is The Answer” / “There's Got To Be More To Life” 7-inch
BMG Rights Mgmt. / 2500 on red vinyl for North America
To whet appetites for punk-rock icon Joey Ramone’s posthumous release, “ya know…”, on May 22, the BMG label is issuing this taster from the album—which is turning into RED distribution’s fastest-selling title for RSD 2012. “Rock ’N’ Roll” (co-written with guitarist/Plasmatics co-founder Richie Stotts) is the kind of classic dive-bar anthem Joan Jett delivers, while the flipside has Ramone listing a litany of things that make life annoying (“got to be more than MTV/fighting with the record company”) over a mid-tempo rocker. [JP]

SNAPCASE
Progression Through Unlearning
Victory / no pressing information available
One of the most important records in modern hardcore, Snapcase’s sophomore effort made huge waves in the scene upon its initial 1997 release, spawned a few bonafide classics within the genre (“Caboose,” “Harrison Bergeron”) and set the table for the band’s later, more intricate and realized work (if you haven’t heard 2000’s Designs For Automotion or 2002’s End Transmission yet, fire up Spotify now and prepare to be engulfed in overdriven riffs and inhuman screams). This is the first time Progression has been on vinyl in five years according to the RSD website, and though there’s little information on the pressing itself, it’s worth checking with your favorite indie store on Saturday for what’s likely the white whale for many hardcore collectors. [BY]